This invention is directed to a system and method for reclaiming components of pile carpet for recycling. Basically, carpets comprise fibrous materials and backing materials. The present system separates and prepares these materials for reintroduction into carpeting as a forming component.
It has become increasingly necessary to generate as little waste as possible while manufacturing commercial products. This is because of increased emphasis on maintaining a clean environment and also because of the more stringent regulations placed on landfill operations. In order to comply environmentally and at the same time lower the cost of doing business, it is now most desirable to recycle as much waste product as possible.
There have been several efforts in the past to provide systems which separate carpeting into its base components for reuse such as the arrangement taught in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,473. This system maintains the backing fabric in tact while acting to separate the bonding materials, the backing materials, and the pile materials. This system is both too expensive and error prone to be practical. There are also known systems for recovering the forming components of old automobile tires such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,471,043; 3,364,526; and 3,923,256. These systems were developed primarily because of the problem and expense of disposing of old discarded tires. They do not include disclosure directed to reclaiming carpet forming components.
Accordingly, an object of this invention is to assist in maintaining a clean environment by recycling manufacturing waste created by carpet scraps and seconds.
It is another object of the invention to separate carpet forming components for reintroduction as a component in the manufacture of carpeting.
It is another object of the invention to improve cost effectiveness in the production of pile carpeting.
It is yet another object of the invention to improve the quality of the secondary backing material used in carpet manufacturing while at the same time reducing the cost of that material.